Somalia

Mogadishu, Somalia, was the site of a pitched
battle in 1993 between US special forces and members of Mohammed Aidid's
supporting clans, some of whom were advised by al Qaeda. The US suffered
18 dead and 84 wounded while killing several thousand men, women, and
children in busy city streets. The fact that its ubermenchen supermen
were actually killed was perceived as a humiliating defeat for the US and
led quickly to a US pull out from the "humanitarian" mission which
had focused on entrapping Aidid. Now we are witnessing a belated revenge
as the US is targetting Somalia, one of Africa's poorer countries, in
the "War on Terrorism:"

'Black Hawk Down' portends military foray: Somalis 1/25/02 Dawn, Pakistan: "The film is stupid and presents Somali leaders and fighters as inhuman," said Mohamed Said Abdulle, one of the gunmen who took part in the battle that claimed the lives of 18 US soldiers and hundreds of Somalis. "The fighting in Mogadishu was a legitimate defence against foreign domination," he added.
He said the movie could be a gimmick to prepare the American public for another US military strike against Somalia, a country where, according to Washington, terrorists might have found a safe haven. In one of Mogadishu's makeshift cinemas, youths cheered the scene showing a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Somali gunmen hit one of the helicopters.
"The Americans killed hundreds of our people on that day, but they still talk about 18 of their servicemen," Abdulle said."

Somalis cheer at 'Black Hawk Down' screening 1/23/02 CNN: "At the screening, Somalis paid the equivalent of 10 U.S. cents to watch the movie, less than a mile from where a real Black Hawk helicopter went down. Audience members seemed to take delight in scenes of U.S. defeat. Each time an American chopper went down in the film, the audience cheered. Every time an American serviceman was killed, the audience cheered some more."

Everyone's a Critic as Hollywood Version of '93 Battle Opens 1/23/02 IHT: Same story as reported by the warmongering CNN, but with a different slant: "The Weheliyas are upset that any film was made. "Seven people in our family died," wailed Sahara Abdi Karim Weheliya, 35. "Four grown ones and three children. Since then, no one has come and asked what happened to us."
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"We are the place where this happened," said an elder relative, Marian Shire Kediye, 60. "But different people, who were not here, take the profit of this event."

Jingoism jibe over Black Hawk Down 1/21/02 BBC: ""At that time, I was covering the conflict as a journalist, and I know that the people who were fighting were not only supporters of Aideed.
"Many of them were just people in the neighbourhood who got caught up in this fire and were trying to defend their homes, as they thought they were under attack," he said."

Group calls for 'Black Hawk' boycott 1/20/02 AP: "He cited the death of a Somali man punched at a Minneapolis bus stop in October, which triggered accusations in the Somali and Muslim communities of a hate crime. No one has been charged." Hollywood leads the lynch mob.

The Long And Hidden History Of The U.S. In Somalia 1/20/02 Black World Today: "Such an overbearing foreign military presence in a country which had been free from colonial rule for only a little more than three decades led to growing resentment, particularly since these elite combat forces were not trained for such humanitarian missions. (Author and journalist David Halberstam quotes the U.S. Secretary of Defense telling an associate, "We're sending the Rangers to Somalia. We are not going to be able to control them. They are like over trained pit bulls. No one controls them.") Shootings at U.S. military roadblocks became increasingly commonplace and Somalis witnessed scenes of mostly white American forces harassing and shooting their black countrymen."

Somali Warlords Await US Rematch 1/20/02 Sunday Times of London: The US will again cover itself with glory going after some of the poorest people on the planet with a display of arrogance unequaled since … the last time they did it!

Somali Ruler Says Country 'Terrorized' by U.S. 1/11/02 Reuters: "The president of Somalia's transitional government said Friday that his people had been ''terrorized'' by a U.S. propaganda campaign portraying the country as a possible haven for Osama bin Laden's followers."

Powell orders watch on 'lawless country' 1/10/02 Telegraph, UK: ""And one place that's been mentioned particularly is Somalia, because it is quite a lawless place without much of a government and because of past affiliation with such activity."
The US army suffered its heaviest day of combat casualties since Vietnam in Mogadishu on Oct 3, 1993, when 18 soldiers were killed, 82 injured and one captured." Not mentioning the 1000+ Somali men, women, and chilldren killed on that day. But that's D. Whitman.

'US targets' in Somalia running for cover 1/10/02 Telegraph, UK: "Militia leaders are already giving the Americans lists of "terrorists". Some may be genuine, but often they are rivals the leaders are keen to dispose of." The Gestapo was also used to settle scores under the German occupation: without any due process, how could it be otherwise?

Marines Arriving Amid Increased Surveillance in Qaida Hunt 1/5/02 IHT: getting ready for Somalia - "Also, the Pentagon soon will have in the Arabian Sea three Marine Corps units, each carrying about 1,200 Marines. One of those units is scheduled to set sail for the United States soon, but there will be a one-week period in mid-January when all three will be available in the region, officials said." The upcoming Somalia genocide can help perpetuate the warfare state.

THE OIL FACTOR IN SOMALIA 1/5/02 LA Times: from 1/18/93 - "Far beneath the surface of the tragic drama of Somalia, four major U.S. oil companies are quietly sitting on a prospective fortune in exclusive concessions to explore and exploit tens of millions of acres of the Somali countryside." So that's why it's next after the Unocal deal in Afghanistan. Oil companies rule!

Somalia next on the block? 1/2/02 Al Ahram: from the son of Kwame Nkrumah - "The Somali government, however, insists that Somali militant Islamist groups were dealt a severe blow during the civil war. These groups are widely discredited in the eyes of the population at large and are all but finished politically and militarily, according to the government."

Africa Is Breeding Future bin Ladens 12/23/01 IHT: "But the fact that some of Islam's most radical and anti-American adherents are increasingly active from South Africa to Sudan, from Nigeria to Algeria, should be of great concern. Africa is an incubator for the foot soldiers of terrorism. Its poor, young, disaffected, unhealthy and undereducated populations often have no stake in government or faith in the future. They harbor an easily exploitable discontent with the status quo. For such people, nihilism is as natural a response to their circumstances as self-help.
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Fighting this battle will not be swift or cheap. America needs to lead its partners in the developed world, both in the public and private sectors, to invest on a scale previously inconceivable.
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The United States will have to open its markets completely to goods and services from the developing world, provide much more trade and investment financing, bridge the digital divide, bolster democratic institutions, invest more in debt relief, increase assistance for education, build health infrastructure, treat the infected and find a vaccine for HIV/AIDS."

Americans in dark glasses cast an eye on Somalia 12/21/01 Guardian, UK: "Somalia watchers doubt Bin Laden would find a safe haven in the country, where rumour-mongering is considered good manners. News of the US mission was given on Mogadishu radio while they were in Baidoa." - los chismosos no pueden estar sordos!

Activists Mobilize To Prevent Africa From Being The Next Target In Bush's War Against Terrorism 12/21/01 The Black World Today: "However, most people don't realize that this same Sharon, also operating as defense minister of Israel, a year earlier had visited then-apartheid South Africa and conspired with the racist state against the best interests of the African national liberation struggle in southern Africa. While there, in company of his hosts, Sharon paid a side visit to South Africa's border with Namibia where he spent a great deal of time hobnobbing with South African military forces deployed there. He conferred with them about ways to better defend their position against the "terrorists" who were attacking the racist regime from the then-South West Africa territory under Pretoria's harsh colonial rule. The "terrorists" that Sharon was concerned about were members of the People's Liberation of Namibia (PLAN), the military wing of SWAPO, the South West Africa People's Organization - officially recognized by the United Nations as the "sole representatives of the people of Namibia." SWAPO and PLAN, along with FAPLA (the Peoples Armed Forces of Angola) and the Cuban Internationalist Forces sent to Angola by President Fidel Castro, had join forces to defend the Angolans and Namibians in their resistance against the brutal military force of Africa's most formidable nation state…. All those wanting to learn more about mobilizing to stop the Bush regime from targeting Somalia, Libya, Sudan, or any other African country to submit to the dictates of U.S. and European Union globalization, as well as forcing the U.S. to end its dishonest, one-sided policy regarding Israel over the Palestinians, or co-opting Afghan national interests into kowtowing to western political or economic interests, are encouraged to attend Friday's historic program. Additional information can be obtained by emailing elombeplc@aol.com [the phones listed are the wrong ones]."

Fears of strike on Somalia from bases in Kenya 12/18/01 Independent, UK: The US seems bent on continuing its rampage, digging itself a deeper hole: "Few experts on the Horn of Africa region can see any good reason why Somalia, which has no national government and is largely run by rival warlords, could be perceived as a viable haven for terrorists."

US patrols off Somali coast point to expansion of campaign 12/1/01 Independent, UK: "A Pentagon unit, the foreign terrorist tracking task force, is co-ordinating the operations which have been dubbed "stiletto strikes". Yemen, Sudan and the Philippines are in the firing line, along with Somalia. Reconnaissance has been undertaken in Yemen and Somalia and special forces have been sent to the Philippines. Several hundred Ethiopian troops are said to have crossed into the Somali province of Puntland, an area US intelligence claims contains terrorist bases linked to Mr bin Laden."

Hasty Judgement On Somalia Dangerous, Warn Experts 11/27/01 AllAfrica.com: "Press speculation that Somalia, along with Sudan and Yemen will be targeted next in the U.S. global anti-terror campaign has been intense, particularly following the targeting of Somali company Al-Barakaat as a conduit for terrorist funds. Al-Barakaat is the largest company in Somalia, with interests in telecommunications, banking, postal services and refreshment.
The company has had to close services throughout Somalia, after British and American business partners terminated their relationship with the group. The move has greatly limited telephone contact between the country and the outside world and cut off a channel widely used by Somali expatriates to send money back home."